Maribor Old Town and the Old Vine

Maribor's old town runs down to the Drava at Lent, the strip of riverside houses below the medieval water tower and the Jewish tower, and against one of those houses grows the Old Vine: a Žametovka planted, on the evidence of paintings and records, more than four hundred years ago, recognised by Guinness as the oldest vine in the world still producing fruit. It yields a small crop each year, bottled in tiny quantities and given as a state gift. The Lent festival fills the quarter each summer.

What you actually see

• The Old Vine - a Zametovka over four hundred years old, still cropping each autumn.
• The Lent quarter - the riverside strip of houses, towers and terraces below the old town.
• The Water Tower and Jewish Tower - surviving defensive towers on the river wall.
• The Lent Festival - the summer festival that takes over the riverside.

When to go

April to October; the vine harvest is a public ceremony in late September or early October. The Lent Festival runs for a fortnight in late June and early July. Winter is grey and the riverside quiet.

Honest expectations

The vine is a single plant on a wall and takes two minutes to see; the Old Vine House museum beside it fills out the visit. Maribor is an industrial city and the old town is modest. Lent Festival crowds fill the riverside completely.

Nearby

Pohorje is southwest, and Ptuj is southeast.